HEKS/EPER is making a difference in the «Intercultural interpreting and mediation» in Brazil

There are extreme social and economic disparities in Brazil. Some 60% of the rural population live below the poverty line. Unfair land distribution is one of the reasons for this. Roughly 4.8 million Brazilian families are landless, while some 4 000 large landowners possess over 85 million hectares of land. Families who have lived for generations on their land, though most of them without land titles, are systematically expelled to make way for large soya, sugar cane and eucalyptus plantations and for extensive cattle farming. Brazil's biodiversity is under severe threat and social problems have become exacerbated. HEKS/EPER helps improve the food security and incomes of the rural population and supports the building of a strong civil society.

Facts

In 2017, 6400 people obtained access to 17000 hectares of land and 9500 people access to water. 10000 people boosted their crop yields and 8000 increased their income.

Intercultural interpreting and mediation are indispensable if people are to understand one another across language and cultural divides. Intercultural interpreting enables patients, for example, to understand their doctor. Intercultural mediators for their part conduct workshops on health promotion or parent education. HEKS/EPER provides intercultural interpreters and intermediaries in the regions of Basel Stadt/Baselland as well as Aargau/Solothurn, and runs parent education projects with intercultural intermediaries, as well as basic and advanced training courses in intercultural interpreting and mediation.